This application relates to digital data communication and more particularly to physical-layer network coding (PNC) and straightforward network coding (SNC). Since the conception of physical-layer network coding (PNC), it has developed into a subfield of network coding that has been under intensive study. Most of the investigations to date have focused on the simplest setup in which PNC can be applied, namely the two-way-relay channel (TWRC). Studies of the application of PNC in general networks are relatively few. What is needed are options to exploit the underlying advantages of physical layer coding in a variety of network configurations.